The Secret Is Out: The Heroine of Rachel’s Upcoming Novel is… Nicola de la Haye
Nicola (Nicholaa) de la Haye is known as ‘the woman who saved England’ for when she fended off a French invasion in 1216-17
For days I’ve been hinting. Dropping clues. Teasing that the heroine of my upcoming historical novel is someone extraordinary. And today, I can finally reveal her name
Nicola (Nicholaa) de la Haye: ‘the Woman who Saved England’.
Why I Chose Nicola de la Haye as My Heroine
Nicola isn’t a creation of legend or folklore. She was real — a formidable 12th- and 13th-century noblewoman who defied the expectations of her age. She inherited power in her own right, commanded a castle garrison, and, on at least three occasions, defended Lincoln Castle from siege.
Most famously, in 1217, when England teetered on the edge of conquest by Prince Louis of France, Nicola — then nearly seventy years old — refused to surrender her castle. She held the fortress until William Marshal’s army turned the tide in what chroniclers called the Battle of Lincoln Fair (or the Second Battle of Lincoln). Without her, England’s story might have ended very differently.
A Forgotten Heroine Brought Back to Life
Despite her extraordinary role, Nicola de la Haye has too often been left to the margins of history.
Her biographer, Sharon Bennett Connolly, recently catalogued her extraordinary life in a non-fiction book, but my novel shines a spotlight on not just her life, but her inner as well as her outer journey—and the hopes and fears of an heiress and noblewoman born into a time when women didn’t matter, weren’t heard, and certainly weren’t expected to lead.
My novels will cover
Her youth and inheritance in Lincolnshire
Her marriages, struggles, and private battles
Her defiance of powerful men and her stand against kings
Her transformation into one of medieval England’s most remarkable women
This first novel (the title to be revealed soon) is set in her youth, when both the kingdom, and Nicola’s future, hung on a precipice.
Medieval England.
A civil war...
A teenage heiress...
And a disastrous marriage.
What happens when a girl expected to yield… chooses to lead?
Coming soon.
Based on a true story.